Moving On
by SophF95
Summary: This is it. A new start. The chance to move on from the horrors of the past two weeks. Lowering her head, Ava walks down the path to Waterloo Road School. Will she be able to settle in and come to terms with what has happened? Will she be able to open up? Or will she go down the path of destruction? Only time will tell...
1. Chapter 1

_**Hello everyone, so it's been a while since I've wrote any Fanfics but decided to start a new one as I'm currently in the mood for writing. Ava Johnson is my own character, all others belong to Waterloo Road and the BBC. I hope you enjoy this first chapter**_ __

 **Chapter 1:**

This is it. A new start. The chance to move on from the horrors of the past two weeks. Ava stared up at the red bricked building in front of her with her blue eyes, a narrow grey road leading to the car park to the side, a field of grass on the other. A new beginning.

As Ava stood there, groups of people walked past; clusters of girls talking quick and laughing, crowds of boys shouting at each other and chasing footballs. Ava noticed eyes looking towards her. The new girl she thought. But then she remembered about the cuts and bruises on her face, the memories flooding back. Ava took a deep breath and lifted her right hand out to the side. Holding it there for a moment Ava turned and let out a sigh, a lump forming in her throat. She had never had to do this alone before. She lowered her hand and after taking a moment to compose herself started to walk down the path to Waterloo Road.

Opening the door Ava steps into the school and her eardrums are filled with the sound of voices talking from every direction. Looking around Ava can see people walking up and down the corridor, some stood at the side in small groups talking. Ava spots a sign saying reception and follows the arrow deciding it would be the best place to start. She had never been that confident and didn't really enjoy being in new situations. She preferred for someone else to take charge but that wasn't a possibility anymore.

Arriving in reception Ava heard a door opening and turned to see a woman with brown hair coming down to her shoulders emerging. The woman walked over to the photocopier before turning around. Ava quickly turned so the woman couldn't see her face, pretending she wasn't watching she was doing previously

"Ah, you must be Ava," The woman said, her voice sounding warm and friendly. "If you go and take a seat in my office I'll be with you in just a second." She said gently pointing through the door she had appeared from. Ava turned and headed into the office making sure to keep her head down. She knew she wasn't going to be able to hide them, but she didn't want it to be the first thing to be mentioned.

"Right," said the voice as the woman came into the office closing the door behind her before taking a seat at her desk. "I'm Ms Mason the headteacher." She said looking at Ava who was still sat with her head down, twiddling her fingers in her lap.

"I've just been reading in your file that you've just moved into the area to live with your Dad. You must be a bit nervous starting at a new school in a new place. Where did you live before here?" Ms Mason asked gently.

"Near Birmingham" Ava replied quietly. She could feel tears building in her eyes just thinking about everything that she had left behind. How she wished she could just be back there, everything as it was. Instead she had been dumped here.

Ms Mason looked at Ava, her blond wavy hair dangling over her face as she continued to sit with her hair down. She knew she must be nervous, after all it was her first day at a new school in a town she had just moved to, but she couldn't help but feel there was something she was not telling her.

"I have your timetable here. Which subjects do you enjoy?" Ms Mason asked hoping she would be able to find out a bit more about her. Instead, Ava just shrugged her shoulders keeping her eyes fixed on the floor.

"I see here that you are a fan of music and drama?" Ms Mason asked shifting her gaze from the file back to Ava who sat there in silence.

"Before you go to your first lesson do you have the form I gave to your Dad to fill in?" Ms Mason asked. She watched as Ava's head disappeared under the desk and heard rummaging. A few seconds later Ava's head appeared, and Ms Mason saw her face for the first time. She had a large cut across her forehead, one of her eyes circled by a black bruise, other small cuts and bruises noticeable too.

"Ava, what happened to your face?" Ms Mason asked as she took the letter from Ava's hand which was shaking.

"It doesn't matter." Ava said shakily. Ms Mason guessed this is the reason she hadn't been making eye contact the whole time.

"I'm afraid it does. You're now a pupil at my school and I have a duty to make sure you're safe." Ms Mason explained continuing to look at Ava.

"Well it's none of your business, pupil or not." Ava snapped as she stood up grabbing her bag from the floor and flinging it onto her shoulder. She swiped her timetable from Ms Mason's desk before turning and storming out of the office before Ms Mason had the chance to call her back.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2:**

Why do all corridors look the same? Ava thought as she looked from one corridor to another. Looking at her timetable she knew she was supposed to be on her way to English with someone called Mr Clarkson, who also happened to be her form tutor, but she didn't have a clue which direction she was supposed to be going in. Ava leant against the wall and could feel the familiar sensation of a lump building in her throat. She couldn't do this. It was too soon. Ava was just about to scrumple up the timetable in her hand when she heard a voice next to her.

"Are you ok? You look lost." the voice said and Ava pulled her attention back to where she was. The girl had long blond hair tied in a pony tail and was wearing a pink hoody that was sliding off her shoulder at one side.

"I'm trying to find Mr Clarkson's English class" Ava said shakily and passed her timetable over to the girl.

"That's my class. I'm Sam by the way. My real name is Sambuca but everyone just calls me Sam." The girl explained and motioned at Ava to follow her.

"What happened to you? All those bruises and cuts and stuff. It must have hurt." Sam said casually as the duo walked down the corridor. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want too." Sam said quickly as she thought about what she had just said. "Sorry, I tend to speak without thinking first." She explained and smiled at Ava.

"It's ok. I just don't want to talk about it." Ava said lightly. This Sam girl seemed ok and she didn't want to scare her away straight away by being rude.

"Come on girls!" A male voice shouted from down the corridor. Ava turned to see a teacher who she assumed to be Mr Clarkson herding the stragglers into his lesson.

"And you must be Ava," Mr Clarkson said as Ava made her way towards Mr Clarkson. "Oh, you've been in the wars haven't you?" Mr Clarkson commented before following the two girls into the classroom. Ava watched as Sam went and sat on a desk with a smaller girl with brown curly hair and motioned to Ava to sit in an empty chair at the desk next to them.

Ava reached into her bag to get a pen out ready. She knew she should be trying to make this work and for it to work, she needed to concentrate. However, she knew that it was going to be easier said than done. She had always been a bit of a daydreamer and had never really had to pay attention before. She always had Isla for that.

Suddenly Ava was pulled away from her thoughts by someone saying her name. "Ava, are you listening?" Mr Clarkson asked firmly but Ava carried on pretending she hadn't heard him. She didn't really care what he had to say. She guessed her must have given up and asked someone else as she didn't hear her name again, so once again her mind went wandering off to when she lived back in Birmingham, back to Isla. Ava placed her hand down the side of her collar and grasped hold of the gold chain spinning it round until she found the heart shaped locked dangling from it, lifting it over her collar to fiddle with.

"Ava, can you put the necklace away please." Mr Clarkson said but once again Ava wasn't listening. Instead, her gaze was focused out of the window, no acknowledgement the teacher had even spoke.

"Ava!" Mr Clarkson shouted causing her to jump and turn to look at him. "Necklace away or it'll have to stay with me until home time." Mr Clarkson explained but he knew it was no good. Ava either wasn't listening, or didn't care. Mr Clarkson walks from behind his desk over to Ava holding his hand out.

"Take it off please." Mr Clarkson said firmly.

"No." Ava said simply as she maintained her focus outside of the window.

"Pardon?" Mr Clarkson said sternly still holding his hand out.

"I said no." Ava said defiantly as she turned to look at Mr Clarkson. "It's not bothering anyone so I don't see why I should." Ava snapped and instantly regretted it. She knew she had overstepped the mark.

"Get your things. Your going to the cooler." Mr Clarkson said simply lowering his hand to his side. He watched as Ava shoved her pen bag in her bag and followed her out of the classroom door.

Well done Ava. She thought to herself as she was ushered down the corridor. Great start.

 _ **Thank you to whoever left the review on my first chapter, it means a lot to know someone is actually reading this and enjoying it. I hope you enjoyed this chapter too. All will be revealed about what has happened in a few chapters**_ __ __


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3:**

"Go and find a seat please" Tom said as he held the cooler door open. Ava walked past him not making eye contact and took a seat at a table in the middle of the room. There was no one else in there other than a youngish looking man with dark hair sitting behind the desk looking confused at Ava then to Tom before the pair stepped outside the door.

"Is that Ava Johnson, the new girl?" Mr Mead asked Tom as he pulled the door shut behind him.

"Yeah, it is. Not a great start to her time here is it being sent to the cooler in her first lesson." Tom said as he peered through the window.

"What happened?" Mr Mead asked, and Tom explained how she hadn't been paying attention all lesson and was playing with her necklace when she shouted at him because he asked her to remove it.

"Right, I'll see if I can have a chat to her and see what is going on." Mr Mead says.

"I'll go and talk to Rachel after lesson, see if she was like this at her previous school." Mr Clarkson says before heading back to his class.

As Mr Mead walks back into the cooler he can see Ava sat continuing to play with the necklace around her neck. Closing the door behind him he heads over to the desk in front of Ava and props himself up against it.

"Not a great first day is it Ava? You haven't even gone a full morning without getting into trouble." Mr Mead said looking at Ava who was staring down at her lap. "Why didn't you just give Mr Clarkson the necklace or put it away?" he asked but still no words passed Ava's lips, instead a hand rose to face to wipe away a tear from her cheek.

"Ava, is there something you want to talk about?" Chris asked gently as he pulled a chair up closer to Ava who was still staring down at the ground. Part of her wanted to tell them everything that had happened, so they don't keep asking, but she didn't know where to start.

"Listen, I know it must be difficult starting at a new school where you don't know anyone but not listening to teachers in your first lesson isn't going to be making it any easier. You need to get your head down and listening ears on otherwise we'll end up having to get your parents in." Mr Mead said simply.

Ava let out a quiet laugh before turning to look at Mr Mead. "Good luck with that."

"What do you mean Ava? Good luck with what?" Mr Mead asked confusingly, another tear rolling down her face.

"Nothing, it doesn't matter." Ava said turning her gaze back down the floor. She really couldn't afford to lose her temper again.

"It must matter Ava. Is there something you're not telling us?" Mr Mead asked.

"Just leave it will you, if I wanted to tell you I would have the first time, but I didn't so stop asking!" Ava shouted jumping up out of her seat just as Ms Mason opened the cooler door.

"What is all the shouting about?" Ms Mason demanded as she stepped into the room. She watched as Ava stood shaking, red faced with tears brimming in her eyes.

"Ava I think you should go and wait for me in my office." Ms Mason suggested opening the door ready. "I'll be up in a minute and I expect you to be there."

 _ **Hello! I hope you are all enjoying this! All will be revealed in the next chapter or two**_ __ _ **please remember to leave reviews of what you think**_ __ __


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4:**

There was a gentle breeze outside and the sun shone as Ava sat on the concrete steps. She couldn't face going to Ms Mason's office straightaway. She needed to get some fresh air to try and calm herself down. Ava knew today was going to be difficult, but she had no idea it was going to be this difficult.

Reaching into her pocket she pulled out her phone and made her way down her contact list until she reached the one named 'dad'. Pressing the dial button she held her phone to her ear listening to the familiar dialling sound.

"Hello," the voice said as he answered the phone.

"Dad, it's Ava" she said shakily. She could feel she was about to try but she really didn't want to cry down the phone to her Dad but she was struggling to hold it back.

"How is it going?" her Dad asked happily.

"I…I can't do it," Ava whispered. "It's too hard…I miss her too much."

"You'll be fine Ava. Just keep your head down and get on with it. It'll help take your mind off it all." He replied simply. "Listen, I've got to go. I'm in the middle of something at work. I'll speak to you later Ava. Love you." And before Ava had the chance to say anything back the line went dead, the sound of one continuous beep filled her ear.

Ava hastily shoved the phone back in her pocket as she wondered why she had even bothered to phone. She knew he wouldn't have anything helpful to say. He never does. He doesn't understand what it is like. Ava wiped the fresh tears from her eyes before getting up to trudge her way to Ms Mason's office.

As Ava reached the office door she could see it was already open, Ms Mason stood inside staring out of the window. She turned around as she heard the door click and smiled at Ava.

"Ah, there you are. I was beginning to think you might have disappeared." Ms Mason said calmly as she invited Ava to sit down on the sofa's in the corner of the room with her.

"Sorry, I just needed to go outside for some fresh air." Ava said as she placed her bag down on the floor. She knew this was it. She would have to tell Ms Mason what had happened.

"You seem a lot calmer which is good." Rachel said as she looked at Ava. "Are you ready to tell me what is going on? I've spoken to Mr Clarkson and Mr Mead and know something isn't quite right." Ms Mason explained gently and reached out her hand, placing it on Ava's knee. "Whatever it is, you can trust me."

"It's not that I don't trust you, I…I just don't know if I can bring myself to say it. I feel that once I say it that it will make it seem more real somehow, that it isn't all some big horrible nightmare that I'm living in." Ava explained and looked Ms Mason properly in the eyes for the first time, tears building up again.

"Ava, look at me," Ms Mason said as she grabbed hold of one of Ava's hands. "You can do this. Whatever it is you need to tell me, you can do it. Just take your time, there's no rush. If you don't want to say it I can get you paper so you can write it down if you think that'll be easier. Whatever it is, I'm here for you." Ms Mason explained. She watched as Ava reached for her necklace and held it tight in her hand, took a deep breath and began.

"It happened nine days ago, back in Birmingham. Me, Isla and my Mum decided to go on a shopping spree but when we were walking home it all went wrong. I don't really remember what happened, it was all so fast. I remember a car coming down the road beeping and swaying all over when suddenly it started coming straight towards us." Ava explained but the lump in her throat was getting bigger and bigger like it was trying to choke her. "I remember freezing on the spot not knowing what to do. I heard Mum scream and…" but Ava couldn't continue. Her voice failed. She glanced over to Ms Mason and could tell she had tears brimming in her eyes from listening to what Ava had to say.

"Mum didn't make it." Ava managed to whisper. Rachel leant over and wrapped her arm around her shoulder squeezing them tight. The pair sat for a moment until Ava had composed herself a bit.

"What about Isla?" Ms Mason asked gently looking at Ava. She could see her eyes refilling with fresh tears and a simple shake of the head confirmed what Rachel had thought, that she didn't make it either. Rachel pulled Ava in for a huge cuddle whilst Ava let out all the tears and emotions that she had been trying her best to hold back.

"It's ok, let it all out." Ms Mason said gently as she held Ava tight in her arms. No wonder she was struggling with being at school so much this morning and why she didn't want to talk much. She just wished she had known before Ava had started. Why hadn't her Dad mentioned anything?

After a couple of minutes Ava started to calm down again and Ms Mason went to get her a drink of water and another box of tissues.

"Was Isla you're sister?" Ms Mason asked softly as she looked at Ava again who was clinging onto the necklace around her neck once more.

"Twin sister," Ava said quietly before letting the necklace fall onto her chest.

 _ **Hello. So I hope you all enjoyed this chapter now you know a bit more about what is going on with Ava. Please remember to leave reviews and any suggestions you may have for the story and I'll try my best to fit them in**_ __ __


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5:**

After moments of sitting in silence embracing each other in a large hug, Ava felt able to talk again to continue her story.

"Isla saved me. She pushed me out of the way onto the ground so I wouldn't get hit, rather than saving herself. That's why my face is covered in bruises and cuts from where I hit the ground and skidded across it." Ava explained looking at Ms Mason. She was starting to feel more comfortable around her and felt like words were just starting to flow from her mouth. It felt good to be finally telling someone and be able to talk about it without someone trying to change the subject.

"The doctors told me that Mum didn't make it to the hospital, her injuries were too severe, but Isla was in a coma for 3 days before Dad decided to turn off her life support." Ava said shakily. She couldn't help but think that it should have been her who died rather than Isla.

"We stayed in Birmingham for the funerals then Dad dragged me up here to live." Ava said but Rachel couldn't help but notice the change in her tone of voice. A hint of bitterness seemed to have creeped in.

"Didn't you want to move?" Rachel asked looking at Ava.

"I wanted to stay in Birmingham, but Dad didn't want to move there so I had to come up here." Ava explained. "He doesn't care that all my friends are back there, it's where I grew up. He left when me and Isla were 5 years old. Since then we haven't really seen that much of him, maybe once or twice a year. Then he thinks he can come back into my life and uproot me miles away and expect me to be happy and enjoy it. He doesn't care about me. He just wants an easy life." Ava raged letting it all out.

"I'm sure that's not true. He's your Dad after all and he loves you." Rachel explained but she knew it wasn't any good.

"If he loved us then why did he leave? Why not make the effort to come and see us? He hardly knows anything about me. He doesn't even seem to care that Mum and Isla aren't here anymore. He doesn't talk about them and when I try to bring it up he just changes the subject. It like he expects me to forget all of this ever happened." Ava ranted. She felt a bit harsh shouting it all at Ms Mason but now that she had started she needed to get it all off her chest.

"He will Ava, trust me. It's just grief affects people in different ways. Your Dad might just need some time to take it all in. It must have been a shock for him too." Rachel explained gently trying to get Ava to see it from her Dad's point of view.

In the distance the bell rang to symbolise the start of break time. Looking out of the window Ava could see people descending the steps into the playground.

"Listen, why don't you go and get some fresh air and something to eat from the canteen." Ms Mason suggested as she stood up from the sofa and glanced out of the window. She thought it would do Ava some good to have a bit of time by herself to think things over.

"What lesson have you got after break?" Rachel asked and watched as Ava rummaged in her pocket to find her timetable.

"Science with Mr Mead then music with Mr Wilding," Ava said staring down at the piece of paper.

"I saw in your file that you did really well in music at your previous school." Rachel said happily as she sat down behind her own desk.

"Something like that." Ava said quietly before grabbing her bag and disappearing out of the office before Ms Mason had chance to say anything else.

 _ **Hello! I'm so sorry it has been so long since I've updated. Life just gets in the way sometimes and then I lose creativity etc and it all grinds to a halt. However, I found this chapter already typed so thought I would share it with you and hopefully I'll be able to get a few more written. Thank you to everyone who is still reading and reviewing!**_


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